Target trap



sept. 2, 1924. 1,506,992

P. NORTH TARGET TRAP F'iled Oct. 5, 1922 l 3 ShftS-Shet l Sept.- 2 1924.`

P. NORTH TARGET TRAP Filed oct. v5, 1922 s sheets-sheet 2 9 {Ly/7 H Eff! w! @n 3 u w a ill-III 4 w i ..0 5

Patented Sept. 2, 1.924.

UNITED STATES i iseaaez PATENT oFEicE.

PAUL NORTH, O'F LAKEWOOD,

TARGET TRAP. v

Application filed October-5.19272. Serial No. 592,474.

l vthe range of operation and to improve the efiiciency of suoli apparatus.

As is well known, theY ordinary target trap is capable of quick and uninterrupted angular adjustment only in the slightly upwardly-inclined plane in which it ordinarily operates. Its vertical inclination or throw-` ing angle isV usually changed' only for the wind direction.

against or intora'strong wind, kthe effect isto make them climbl with reference to the inclined plane of the trap platform, while,-A

purpose of offsetting or compensating for If the targets are thrown if thrown with a strong following wind, the effect will be to make them duck Stand- Vard traps heretofore in use have been provided with means for varying this inclina-l tion 0f the table or platform, but these adjusting means require the throwing opera: tion to be suspended whenever and until such adjustment is made. vWith the adjusting means heretofore in use, if it is desired lto change vthe inclination frequently, then only a small fraction of the total number of targets capable of being thrown by the machine or trap can be released during a given period of time. For instance, in tournament shooti .p ing, atrap will ordinarily throw vabout 800 targets per hour. fore employed for changing the inclination With the means lhereto'- or throwingangle of the trap or platform, if such means should be operated as rapidly as possible after veach target-release, then only about Y,50 targets per hour could be thrown. 1

With the trap shown and described herein, it is possible, not only to approximate closely the conditions which exist in field shooting, but to do Iso withoutany interruptionwhatsoever of the target-throwing operation.k

`That is to say, the targets may be thrown in the usual manner from the platform, with the usual range of lateral angular-'variation obtainable between the paths of successive i targets, and the platform may be, adjusted at the same time about a substantially horizontal axis, whereby the vertical or throwing angle made by successive .targets may be varied, and this change of adjustment is 'entirely within the controly of the operator and can be accomplished without the knowledge of the shooters or Contestants.

Other kand more limited objects and advantages of the invention willbe pointed y, out hereinafter in the specification.

.In the drawings forming a p artV hereof` Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of artrap constructed 'in' accordance withmy invention; F ig. 2 a fore-and-aft sectionall detail taken at one side of the centerof the apparatus shown in Fig l; Fig. 3 is a detail in plan of the suband tilting-bases; Fig. 4 a sectional detail corresponding to the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, the central standard being .l indicated in dot-and-dashv lines; Fig. 5 a plan/view of the platform, showing the manner of placing targets on thethrowing arm; and Fig. 6' a sectional detail corresponding to the line 6--6 of Fig. 5.'

In the embodiment of my invention disclosed herein, the throwing portion of the trap, which may be Vof any approved stand-.-

ard construction, is mounted upon a supporting member, which will be referred to hereinafter as aV tilting base,v and this tilting base in turn is mountedupon `a second sup- Y portingfm'ember, whichfwill be referred to hereinafter as a sub-base.7V -The sub-base vwill be secured to the foundation and, inthe embodiment shown herein, comprises a base Y plate l, side plates 2, and a rear plate` or wall 3,5the` side plates extendingaipwardly `at their rear ends and .provided each with a boss 4l having a bore therethrough constituting a. bearing for a stud shaft on which y the tilting base is mounted. Secured to one of the side walls 2 of the sub-base is anarm 5 having its upper portion projected inwardly above the longitudinal central part of the sub-base, as indicated at 5a, for a purpose to be explained hereinafter.

The tilting base, to which reference has been made hereinbefore, comprises generally a bottom or base plate 6, having its central portion open, for lightness ofconstruction, and pro-vided with short side plates 7 and a shortrear plate or wall 8. The side plates L Y.

extend rearwardly and upwardly, as indicated at 78and each is providedwith a iio boss 9, said bosses being provided with bores essere@ t@ resista-f rar-The @ses ie the;

bosses 41 and to receive jointly therewith the studs 1'0. The sides 6a of the front portion of the bottom plate 6 are faced off and lit fairly closely between faced-off V,projections 2a on the sides of the sub base. The tilting base is shown herein as provided with a central standard 11, which maybe fastened to the bottom plate v6 of the tilting base, as by means of bolts 12.

The construction shown 'and described herein dispenses 'with the necessity 'for any pivotal connection between the platform and the part or tilting base by which ift is supported. However, in order to :adapt my invention to existing traps having standards Y 11, the frame 13 may be provided Vwith a downwardly projecting extension 13a which 'can be pivotally connected to the standard by the bolt 14:. rllhe standard 11, frame 13, extension 13a and bolt 14 are `the means usually employed in standard traps for varying the throwing angl'e 'or inclination of l'the table or platform about a Vhorizontal axis; but, in order to effect this variation, it is necessary to suspend the 'operation of the trap, Vslack ofi' the clamping vbolt 111, adjust the platform to its -desired position, and set up again on the bolt. As pointed out heretofore, there is no necessity for a pivotal connection between the frame 'and the tilt` ing base. The standard 11 and extension 13a may, however, be employed for the application of existing traps to the tilting base, but without the necessity for slacking ofi'and setting up on the bolt 14.

The 'complete target-supporting and throwing mechanism carried by and including the frame 13 are preferably of the type shown in the application of Robert S. Elliott, Serial No. 494,815, filed August 24, 1921. In the drawing, 15 'denotes the platform or table, 16 the throwing arm, '17 the throwing spring, 18 the resetting lspring', 19 an arm pivoted at its upper end and having its lower end provided with 'a pin 20 on which the link 21 is mounted, the said link being connected at one end to the throwing spring and at its other end to the pull rod 22, the parts being of the usual and ordinary construction. The spring 17 is of such length and the pivot 19a for the arm 19 is so located that, when the spring 17 is not under throwing tension, the lower endof the arm 19 is substantially coincident with the axis of rotationv of thetilting bore. `With this arrangement, the adjustment of the tilting bore about its horizontal axis will .cause no material Variation in the length of the spring 17; hence such adjustment will not Vary the throwing tension of said spring, the arm' 22 being pulled rearwardly the same distance each time the trap is operated t-o throw a target.

For the purpose of operating the tilting base, I prefer to employ the detailed mechalnism shown in AUhe drawings, said mechanism lcomprisi'n'g a rotary shaft 23 having a worm 24 thereon meshing with a worm gear 25 on a shaft v26 extending transversely of and mounted on the front of the subbase, the

shaft 26 being provided with a pinion 27 may be formed separately from the bottomp'late of the tiltingbase and finay be secured to the latter, as shown in Fig. 2; that is to say, by means iof Va pla-te 29 extending be neath the front of the 'plate 6 'and belted thereto, as indicated at 30. For the purpose of assisting the operation fof elevating 2the target-supporting land throwing portion of the trap, A'a Yspring -31 is supported 'end from the upper end 5a of the 4ar-n 5 and is connected at its other-end to the rack 28. This spring tends to elevate the front end'of the tilting base `and thus :assist the operator Fin quickly elevating the lower front end of such base.

By using a slow ypitch for the woran' 24;.

and worm gear 25,1the worniand worm gear constitute Va self-locking means whereby the trap may be supported in any position to which it may be adjusted 'and without the liability to run down by reason of the weight of the parts operating upon the pinion 27 and shaft l26. Y

In the type of platform and throwing arm shown in the Elliott application referred to h'ereinbefore 'and illustrated '1 more par* ticularly in Figs. 5 and 6 hereof, variations in the nearly horizontal angle at which ay target is `discharged frointh'e platform are accomplished by varying the positions ofi the targets on the throwing arm. By refer- 1. ence to the drawing Vit will be seen that, Y

when the arm 16 is in its throwing position, two targets 31 may be placed in contact with said arm, betweenth'e stops 32a1d `onfthe platform; or a single target lmay be .adjusted to any desired position along the 'said arm between said stop-s. By this variation in the position of a single target, a corresponding variation in the direction of flight from the platform is obtainable. By using this construction of platform 'and arm, and with power-operated means such 'as set forth hereinbefore for rocking the platform'about the horizontal 'a-Xis y'of the studs 10, it is pos-V sible for a. single operator to 'vary at will the i'ertical or throwing angle ofthe platform. 15 without apprisinglthe contestants of such change and without interference. with the simultaneous variation of the-ordi# nary throwing angle or line-of-ight of the target.

Having thus I claim is: A 1. In a target trap, the combination of a sub-base, a tilting base adjustably mounted upon the sub-base, a complete target-throwing mechanism mounted upon the tilting base and comprising a frame additional to such tilting base, and power-operated means for moving the tilting base upon the subbase and without interruption of the targetthrowing operation.

v 2, In a target trap, the combination of a described my invention, what support, a platform mounted on said ysupport upon a substantially horizontal pivot, a pull rod, a throwing spring7 and an arm pivo-tally supported by said platform and connected at its swinging end with said spring, the arm-supporting pivot Vbeing so arranged and the spring being of such length that, when the latter is in its released posi-` tion, the lower end of suoh arm will be' substantially coincident with such platform pivot.v

In testimony whereof, Ihereunto ax my Y signature. Y PAUL NORTH. 

